Globeflower
Trollius x cultorum · Ranunculaceae
Large, globe-shaped flowers like double buttercups, in lemon, gold or orange, on long stems above deeply cut leaves in late spring. It needs soil that never dries out.
- Size
- 2½ ft tall, 18 in wide
- Zones
- 3 to 7
- Light
- Full sun to part sun
- Flowers
- Mid May to late June
- Pets
- No toxicity recorded
- Job in a bed
- Drift
A bed built around globeflower
The planner designed this bed around globeflower when this page was made: a 12 × 6 ft (3.7 × 1.8 m) English border in zone 6, full sun. It chose the other plants from the 966 that suit those conditions, and says below why globeflower stands where it does.
The plants
- 1 Globeflower × 3, yellow
- 2 Winter heath × 8, pink
- 3 Coral bells 'Firefly' × 9, red
- 4 Brown-eyed Susan × 3, yellow
- 5 Silver sage × 1, silver leaves
- 6 Sunset hyssop × 3, orange
- 7 Crown imperial × 4, orange
- 8 Dutch iris × 10, blue
Why this plant
- The only globes. The others are bells, airy sprays, daisies and others. Shape reads at a distance, where colours blur.
Why here
- At the back. At 2½ ft it is seen over sunset hyssop (24 in) in front of it, and has nothing behind it to hide.
- A step in the back row. Next to crown imperial (3½ ft): no two neighbours there are the same height, so the back steps up and down like a skyline.
- 3 plants in one group. Massed, one kind reads as a single shape. Scattered, it would look spotty.
Why now
- In flower for six weeks. From mid May to late June.
- Part of the bed's peak. With coral bells 'Firefly' and Dutch iris in late May: 3 kinds at once. No week has more.
Planned as an English border: 6 of the 6 groups (100%) are drifts, longer along the bed than they are deep. It is planted in layers: about 10 in at the front, 24 in in the middle and 3 ft at the back. Something is in flower for 37 weeks, from late January to early October.
The planner's own design check: 12 Excellent, 5 Good. It flags one thing to watch: Nothing on this plan is highly poisonous or an aggressive spreader.
Open this bed in the planner Change its size, the sun or the style, move plants about, or swap one for another.
Where globeflower goes in a border
At 2½ ft it belongs in the middle of a bed. In the planner's ten height classes it is medium (24 in to 2½ ft).
Its job: drift. Planted in a small group of three or five, and repeated further along in the other number.
A rounded, glowing flower for late spring, and lovely with blue Siberian iris. It fails in hot, dry summers.
- Moist borders and bog gardens
- Beside ponds and streams
- Cool-summer climates
What to plant with globeflower
Plants recorded as good partners for it, and what each pairing does:
- Siberian iris: purple against yellow, opposite each other on the colour wheel, if you choose those colours, in flower together for four weeks; happy in the same moist soil.
- Japanese primrose: in flower together for six weeks, from mid May; bold leaves against its medium ones.
- Lady's mantle: in flower together for four weeks, from late May; low enough (18 in) to stand in front of it; happy in the same moist soil.
Questions about globeflower
Does globeflower need sun or shade?
Globeflower grows in full sun (6 or more hours of direct sun a day) and part sun (4 to 6 hours of sun, including some afternoon sun).
It wants soil that stays evenly moist, rich in organic matter, and plenty of water.
What zones does globeflower grow in?
USDA zones 3 to 7. It is hardy to zone 3, which means it survives winter nights down to about −30 °F (−34 °C).
Above zone 7 it struggles: the zones measure winter cold, but a plant's top zone usually means the summers are too hot or the winters too mild for it to rest.
Gardening in Canada? Use the USDA zone for your town: Canada's own zone map uses different numbers.
When does globeflower flower in my zone?
In zone 5 it flowers mid May to late June. As a spring flower it moves about a week for every zone: earlier where it is warmer, later where it is colder.
| Zone 3 | Late May to late June |
|---|---|
| Zone 4 | Late May to late June |
| Zone 5 | Mid May to late June |
| Zone 6 | Early May to late June |
| Zone 7 | Early May to mid June |
Worked out from Hopkins' bioclimatic law: spring arrives about four days later for each degree of latitude north, and one zone is roughly two degrees. A warm spring or a cold one moves any garden two weeks either way.
How far apart should globeflower be planted?
18 in (45 cm) apart, from the middle of one plant to the middle of the next. That is about its full width, so each plant keeps its own outline.
It grows 2½ ft (75 cm) tall. Give it the full distance from anything taller, or it will lean out towards the light.
How many globeflower plants do I need?
At 18 in apart, set out in staggered rows:
- 5 to fill 10 square feet (about 1 m²)
- 7 for a single row 10 ft (3 m) long
- 17 to fill a 4 × 8 ft bed on its own
In a mixed border, plant it as a group of three or five, with a second group further along in the other number.
In the bed above, the planner used three in one group.
Is globeflower poisonous to dogs and cats?
No toxicity is recorded for dogs, cats, horses or people, according to NC State Extension.
"Not toxic" is not "edible": a pet that eats a lot of any plant can be sick.
Is there a native plant like globeflower?
Globeflower is not native to North America. These North American natives come closest to doing its job:
- Golden Alexanders: the same job in a bed, the same size, the same flowering time and the same colour.
- Beardtongue 'Husker Red': the same job in a bed, the same size and the same flowering time; white, not yellow, wants average soil.
Matched the way the planner's Swap button matches plants: the same job in a bed, then size, then flowering time.
What flowers after globeflower?
Globeflower is over by late June. These start as it finishes and carry the same spot on, so it never goes flat:
- Black-eyed Susan: from mid July to mid September, 24 in tall.
- Butterfly weed: from late June to early August, 24 in tall.
- Yarrow: from mid June to late August, 24 in tall.
What does globeflower look like in winter?
Globeflower dies down to the ground and there is nothing to see until spring. The old stems can be cut in autumn, or left until spring as shelter for overwintering insects.
More Trollius
- Chinese globeflower 'Golden Queen' Trollius chinensis 'Golden Queen'
In these guides
Every fact on record
- Type
- Perennial
- Size
- 2½ ft (75 cm) tall, 18 in (45 cm) wide
- Plant
- 18 in (45 cm) apart
- Height class
- Medium (24 in to 2½ ft)
- Place in the bed
- Middle
- Flowers
- Mid May to late June; globes; yellow, orange
- Leaves
- Medium texture, herbaceous; dark green
- Shape
- Upright, clumping
- Hardy in
- USDA zones 3 to 7
- Light
- Full sun, part sun
- Soil
- Rich, evenly moist
- Water
- High
- Feeding
- Moderate, in spring
- Family
- Ranunculaceae
Checked against NC State Extension. Flowering times are for zone 5: later in colder zones, earlier in warmer ones. Toxicity and spread information is a general gardening guide, not veterinary or medical advice, and invasive status varies by region. If a person or pet eats a plant, contact poison control or a vet. Check your local invasive species list before planting anything with a spread warning.